The invention relates to telephone services.
The invention relates more particularly to International tall free telephone services. International toll free services are provided between many countries today, and allows calls in an originating call network to a designated number in another country's terminating network, at no charge to the caller. The toll free customer connected to the terminating network then accepts the charge for the call, which is billed by a Terminating Network Operator (TNO).
Unlike a domestic toll free service, an International toll free service inevitably involves the co-operation of more than one network operator. Because of this, financial settlement arrangements between the operators are necessary; usually this will be between the originating and terminating network operators, but where calls are routed via one or more transit networks, more complicated settlement arrangements may be required. It is normal practice to bill and settle International toll free calls as if the calls had been made in the reverse direction, from the terminating network to the originating network. Thus, the toll free customer on the terminating network is billed for the call, and the TNO will settle with the Originating Network Operator (ONO) by transferring a duration-based payment, usually of the same value as for an International Direct Dial (IDD) call.
In a conventional International toll free service, special toll free numbers are issued by the ONO at the request of the TNO, and the ONO will also make arrangements to ensure that calls using toll free numbers do not cause charges to the caller which would apply for normal IDD calls. For a toll free customer in the terminating network to obtain coverage in many countries the TNO will need to apply to many other Originating Network Operators for allocation of their toll free numbers, and these are independently assigned by each operator without any correlation between countries. Thus callers using International toll free numbers need a directory of numbers in order to identify the correct toll free number to be used in a particular country of call origin. This has resulted in rather cumbersome arrangements which have deterred the development of International toll free services.
As a means of simplifying International toll free calls, a system of Universal International Freephone Numbers (UIFN) has been developed by network operators in conjunction with the International Telephone Union (ITU). A UIFN is a unique worldwide toll free number issued by the ITU in Geneva on application (usually) from a Terminating Network Operator. But the ITU issues a UIFN on behalf of the terminating network customer, not the TNO, so that the customer can transfer the number to an alternative terminating network if he chooses.
In contrast with conventional toll free service, the UIFN means that a single number can be used in any originating network to access the toll free customer. This simplifies the access process, and removes the need for each originating network operator to allocate network-specific toll free numbers which vary from country to country. In this way it is hoped that the simplified UIFN arrangements will encourage the use of International toll free service.
In the UIFN scheme, it is still necessary for the TNO, acting on behalf of its customer, to inform each ONO of the call routing requirements and other details for each UIFN. It is also necessary for each ONO to arrange for non-chargeable access from its network for UIFNs, including payphones and other systems such as Private Automatic Branch Exchanges (PABX).
For a typical UIFN call, the caller dials the UIFN in the originating network in the format +800 NNNN NNNN, where + is the IDD access code used by the ONO--usually prefix 00. The format of the UIFN will normally route the call to the respective international gateway exchange where the "Country Code" 800 for the UIFN will cause the call to be routed to a local database in order to identify the appropriate terminating network for that UIFN. The call will then be routed through the International toll free network to the terminating network, where the UIFN is again decoded to identify the actual TNO number required by the UIFN customer at that time. The customer may require the actual destination to be adapted by time of day or day of week, but this information is not passed to the ONO. In the terminating network, details of the location of the originating network together with the duration of the call will be logged in order to bill the UIFN customer and to make a settlement payment to the ONO.
In addition the ONO may also record details of the call for the purpose of auditing settlements made by the TNO.
In toll free operation, the call from the originating to the terminating network must be identified as toll free in order that the appropriate reversed settlement arrangements can be made. This requires that the signalling associated with the international circuits must contain a call darker to signify toll free; these markers may identify the originating network operator as well, to allow the TNO to compile accurate records for settlement and billing. In the case of International transit call routings, the toll free markers must allow for recognition by transit network operators so that their allocation of settlement payment can be identified. These arrangements usually require adaptation of conventional IDD signalling systems used on international routes and these complications have constrained the number of ONOs from offering an International toll free service.
Although UIFN operation greatly simplifies the issuing and use of numbers, it is still necessary for the TNO to inform all ONOs of new UIFNs, or of any changes for an existing UIFN. Thus UIFN operation is simpler from the user perspective, but still involves a significant amount of administrative effort in the registration process, together with adaptation of International signalling systems. Although UIFN operation is an improvement over the original International toll free service, there are still complexities associated with toll free signalling arrangements on international circuits (including transit arrangements) and in the administration of UIFN information from TNO to ONO.
It is an object of the invention to overcome or at least reduce these problems.